My soon to be 9 year old son has a hard time focusing on his schoolwork. He gets distracted by any little thing. Any sound will distract him, his younger sister making any sound will distract him, etc. He's used to sounds and I've never kept a quiet house. It's just the distraction issue. He hates doing schoolwork. I have tried using timers to help him focus, but that just agitates him and keeps him from working as well. I do not have the television on, so that is not an issue either. Are there any good ideas I can try to help him keep focused on his schoolwork?
2006-11-07 03:34:35 · 13 answers · asked by Annie R 2 in Education & Reference ➔ Home Schooling
First of all, Good for you for not running off and diagnosing him as ADD because he can't focus. This may be the case but more than likely is just that hes a 9 year old boy.
Its still a hard situation though. I've taught children like this before and i almost had to hold his head in place so he wouldn't get distracted :) One thing that i found helpful though was breaking the work times into smaller segments. Since you're homeschooling him, try having him work for 15 minutes, then eating a snack, or having a quick 3 minute play break. He'll probably be able to focus better if he knows its just a short term instead of thinking he has to keep working for an hour. 60 minutes is a long time for a 9 year old.
Good luck
2006-11-07 03:43:44 · answer #1 · answered by Laura 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Nine years old and hates school...sounds normal to me! Home schooling is unique in that students have a larger adjustment time and as they grow older they usually have more freedom at home and so they abuse that. You MUST structure your schooling differently than you are. Each grade level requires a little different strategy. Teachers learn this over the course of a few years of experience. Parents need to learn this too. As he grows older and gets more advanced you will have to change how you teach some. Perhaps you should ask him why he gets so distracted. Do not confront it but just ask the simple question (when not schooling!). He has insights on it the question is will he share them with you. If you want to join the medication craze then have your doctor evaluate him for AD/HD and see what comes of that. There is also this really good stuff that my doctor and several friends in the medical field swear by and that is Focus Factor. It has helped one of my friends five year olds really focus and do much better in school (granted, it is kindergarten, but still!). It is a non-narcotic, all natural, over the counter, herbal medicine that works even for adults.
You have many great ideas here to read and use. Also, go to your local library or bookstore and get a couple books on classroom management and discipline. Remember, your home is a school when he is learning and you really need to get him to understand the difference between home time and school time. It is a challenge that all home schoolers face and most get past. Also, find out if there are any support groups for home schoolers in your community and JOIN ONE!
Good luck ..... teaching is not as easy as it looks.
2006-11-07 03:53:06 · answer #2 · answered by ThinkingMan2006 4 · 1⤊ 0⤋
My older son was the same way - the least little thing and he'd be out of his chair checking it out. Now that he's a bit older (almost 12), he's really matured and does really well focusing on his work. I'm sure part of it is maturity.
I used to keep the blinds closed (to keep his eyes off the backyard) and keep his little brother (who wasn't schooling yet) out of the room. It helped some, but there was always something. All I can say is, make the environment as dull as possible - don't give him anything to be distracted by, no bright colored posters, no music in the background (ok, maybe classical). I used to focus on getting reading, English, and math completed every day - if we did that, he was at least getting the basics. Also recognize that some of this is probably just typical 9-year-old behavior and one day he'll outgrow it.
You might also reconsider your curriculum choices. Not every curriculum will work with every child, it may not match his learning style (auditory, visual, kinesthetic). Check out other curriculums that match up with his learning style.
Best wishes!
2006-11-09 08:13:33 · answer #3 · answered by homeschoolmom 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
White noise may help. He should study with a radio or CDs on at a low level. It blocks out some of the louder, sudden noises that would be attention getting.
He should be in a corner or room by himself so he cannot see what everyone else is doing.
Tell him that when he shows you his work is done, or a pre-established part of it, he will get to __________. Fill in the blank with something he likes and you are able to allow. Perhaps a break to play video games for a set period of time. Then he should get back to his schoolwork again.
He should get at least a 15 minute break per hour and do something physical.... exercise, run around the house, play catch, etc. That will help him burn off some energy. Sitting all day is very hard for an 8-9 yr old boy!
Structure his lessons in short spurts, rather than a long time on one. He needs something new to give his attention to every 15 or 20 minutes. In other words, monitor him and switch between subjects so he does not get bored with one subject. You can do 15 minutes of math and then do 15 minutes of spelling, and then come back to math.
I hope these ideas help. A friend whose son was diagnosed with ADHD did these things instead of drugging him like the doctor wanted to. She homeschooled and worked his lessons around his needs. Nicest, best behaved little guy you'd ever want to meet! He did very well and I believe your son will too.
God Bless,
Sue
2006-11-07 03:59:41 · answer #4 · answered by newbiegranny 5 · 3⤊ 0⤋
One of the ways to help him with this is to interact with him with his homework. I am a professional nanny/tutor for an 8 year old little boy that was diagnosed with ADHD. He has no concentration span if he is having to work alone on about 4 out of 5 days that he has homework. I do not do his homework, but I read over what he has for assignments, and ask him questions. Sometimes we race to see who can get the math problems done first, as he loves competition. I have a spelling game that we do when we are studying for spelling. The more I interact with him, the better he does. We do the timer also, but some days he is just unable to focus. This has actually taken stress off of both of us, as I do not feel I am nagging him to get finished, and he feels I am interested in what he is doing, and he is right. Hope this helps you.
2006-11-07 04:09:23 · answer #5 · answered by Sparkles 7 · 1⤊ 0⤋
Maybe not make him sit down as soon as he gets home to do the homework, let him have 30 minutes of free time to get the wiggles out and clear his head...after that time he has to sit and focus...
Sorry I didn't see the homeschooling listing..uuummmm...maybe not make the lessons quite as long, make sure he gets breaks in between each subject. Maybe he's struggling and being distracted because he's not understanding what he's doing?
2006-11-07 03:43:25 · answer #6 · answered by Kitikat 6 · 0⤊ 0⤋
both sons are easily distracted. no tv or music when they they do homework. at school they have sit close to the teacher. my husband didn't understand why he had go to the bedroom to watch Monday Night Football . one day my husband was giving my son his practice spelling test with the tv on. my son told him turn off the TV. Just turn off all TV and computer, and phone. the kitchen table work best for us. kids bedroom is not a good idea anymore. they have tv, computer, playstation. 360 etc..start H.W. at the same time.
2006-11-07 04:07:32 · answer #7 · answered by memememememe 3 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Read "The Way They Learn" by Cynthia Tobias- subtitle is How to discover and teach to your child's strengths. One big problem in the public (and private) school system is that with such large classes, they can't teach to the students the way they learn. Sounds like your son would do better with more hands on active learning.
2006-11-07 04:28:48 · answer #8 · answered by Psalm91 5 · 0⤊ 0⤋
interaction. my brother was the same way. you have to keep him focused by making school "fun" for him. There's one math course called "school in a box" or maybe it was "math in a box" it really works with kids who are distracted easily. helps them consentrate on what they're doing and - while they don't know it - helps them learn a great deal!
2006-11-08 03:40:19 · answer #9 · answered by ragazza.chica.kella 2 · 0⤊ 0⤋
Maybe school would be better for him - it seperates work from home life, and therefore he would be distracted less.
2006-11-07 03:43:26 · answer #10 · answered by Matt S 2 · 1⤊ 0⤋